Prince Fielder Contract Stacks American League Friday, January 27, 2012 By Matt Knauer - Sports Illustrated Advertising     The last high-profile free agent left on the market, Prince Fielder, finally signed a 9-year, $214 million dollar deal. This is the fourth largest contract in baseball history, behind only Alex Rodriguez’s deals and Albert Pujol’s deal this off-season.      The Tigers needed a quick and immediate fix for their first base situation after Victor Martinez went down for the year with an ACL tear. Owner Mike Illitch wasted no time and signed the big power-hitting first baseman, bringing him to the city that his father Cecil used to rule. The move adds a nother potent bat to a lineup that already features the best pure hitter in the game, Miguel Cabrera, who will be moving to third, Brennan Boesch, and Austin Jackson, mid-level hitters Jhonny Peralta, Delmon Young, and Ryan Raburn, along with decent off-the-bench options like Ryan Raburn, Don Kelly, Danny Worth and Andy Dirks.      The Tigers now appear to be favorites to run away with the AL Central title this year, much to the chagrin of the Cleveland Indians, who were looking to compete for the top spot, and the Royals and White Sox, the former expected to take a leap forward, the latter chilling in a stagnant pool of no progress.      Another troubling problem emerges, however. With both Pujols and Fielder moving to the American League, and Adrian Gonzalez coming over last year, the National League is sorely lacking in big-name, big-production hitters. Matt Holliday, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Joey Votto and Jason Heyward and Mike Stanton are now going to be the big names in the National League. The American League just got a lot more stacked, and lot more competitive.

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